In an inflation economy where other leisure competes with movies, the marketing noise has become so cluttered that it too expensive to get your picture noticed. The producers aim at getting the film made with the most common denominator that will attract the biggest crowd with the smallest effort. You also need to money to come in fast since the theatrical run must cash in quick before the theatre pulls the film, piracy kicks in, or the DVD comes out and kills the box office anyway . It is “high concept” as an art form. No one has time or money to nurture a film’s long run, least of all the exhibitor. The single screen palace must therefore make way for a “longer tail†of more generic products.
You do not need to work as hard on selling a Tyler Perry movie as you do “Atonement“ because the audience already knows what they will get from Tyler Perry. Since the core audience (15- 24) does not read the newspaper every day and have short attention spans, you must rely upon TV teasers, mobile phones and the internet to find them. If your audience is over 25, you also face a product drought from January to August. Consider a high concept formula movie for older people (“The Bucket Listâ€) and you also get a mediocre movie for an audience starved for a movie with meaning.
The core movie audience, and in some cases their older counterparts, only go to the theatre four to five times a year. They bring all their electronic toys, short attention spans and the same bad habits they developed in their living rooms with them.
Of the five Oscar nominees for Best Picture I felt “Atonement†was the least deserving. It was sold as a Jane Austin novel but there was no love story or any innocence in there. I paid to see a “Ryan’s Daughter†type tragic love story but instead got a horny snobby rich girl who sleeps with the help. Their improbable eternal love gets interrupted, not by the first World War mind you, but apparently by the “c†word, which makes an unlikely appearance in the early 20th Century. Talk about marketing to the masses!
If you look at the grosses, not enough people bought it and many of those who did talked on their phones and each other while watching these reprehensible characters lives unfold. At least the characters in “Michael Clayton†and “There Will Be Blood†and “No Country For Old Men†announced their evil.
Keep disappointing your audience and that age group will disappear even further.
I have recently had great experiences at the Paris, Ziegfeld, AMC Lincoln Square, Regal E-walk and AMC Empire.
Although the movies were hardly “Rocky”, the screens were clean, the staff attentive, the seats comfortable, the sound levels good and the presentations crisp.
It can be done, no matter how many screens you run, and even in notoriously sloppy Manhattan.
The 13th street Lyric is listed as the Bijou Cinema.
Many of the porno theatres listed here have rich histories in challenging censorship laws and documenting changing social mores, even if they were not born as brick and mortar palaces. They are time-capsule treasures of our film history.
Although designed to look like a movie palace, there appears to be no record of Studio 54 ever showing a single film for a single showing.
Although it also has had a history of insignificant movies, if you really want to define what a Cinema Treasure is, step into the Empire lobby and look up. It costs nothing.
The Ziegfeld has had at least two, maybe three major remodels since 1969. The original theatre’s burgundy wall coverings were called “New Orleans Whorehouse decor” when it first opened and then again when it was all redone to spec by Cineplex Odeon in the late eighties. It has since faded into a more acceptable color once again.
The original auditorium floor was fully carpeted, a fact that any theatre operator can tell you is not sustainable if you sell soft drinks. That sour smelling carpet was removed and cup holders added, probably by Clearview.
Some cinemas in Britain split the price by including snacks. (e.i.– 6 pounds for your ticket, 4 pounds for a glass of champagne.) This way film rental percentages were limited to the ticket price.
Thanks Warren! That one has had me baffled for while now.
Although it sounds trivial, years from now someone will claim the Empire WAS the Liberty based on the address. Once such revisionist history gets into publication it takes forever to straighten it out. Just look at all the young writers who already mix up the Roxy’s.
When you consider that “The Birth of a Nation” is considered by many to have jump started modern exhibition around the world and may have even created the Roadshow concept, the mothballed Liberty may be the most important historical (if not architectural) Cinema Treasure anywhere.
CT has the same address for both the Liberty and the Empire. Surely this could not have been the case when they co-existed. Does anyone know the original Empire address?
On the issue of booking it right, it is impossible to keep the gourmet food fresh and justify the staff support for the cluster of upscale popular films that open during one season. After you play “No Country For Old Men” and “There Will Be Blood”, the rest of the year ends up being covered by mainstream crap or empty seats.
It is impossible to justify the screen size, staff costs and spoiled food for that small “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” crowd that buys nothing.
Theatres chains in Britain have been running premium priced ‘premiere screens’ for years. They were first introduced by Virgin Cinemas with private bars, waiter service and deluxe seating. Very few worked and few are still operating.
There is no reference to screen size in my 1927 program but the main feature was “Ankles Preferred” starring Madge Bellamy accompanied by an organ concert, symphony orchestra, ballet, magazine, and a “Revue Picturesque'(whatever that is).
The 26 page program says it would have a guaranteed circulation of 100,000 weekly.
Great shot, LM. Elvis himself did once perform live at the Olympia.
There was a New Strand at 78 East Broadway in 1924.
I think I know how we ended up this way…
In an inflation economy where other leisure competes with movies, the marketing noise has become so cluttered that it too expensive to get your picture noticed. The producers aim at getting the film made with the most common denominator that will attract the biggest crowd with the smallest effort. You also need to money to come in fast since the theatrical run must cash in quick before the theatre pulls the film, piracy kicks in, or the DVD comes out and kills the box office anyway . It is “high concept” as an art form. No one has time or money to nurture a film’s long run, least of all the exhibitor. The single screen palace must therefore make way for a “longer tail†of more generic products.
You do not need to work as hard on selling a Tyler Perry movie as you do “Atonement“ because the audience already knows what they will get from Tyler Perry. Since the core audience (15- 24) does not read the newspaper every day and have short attention spans, you must rely upon TV teasers, mobile phones and the internet to find them. If your audience is over 25, you also face a product drought from January to August. Consider a high concept formula movie for older people (“The Bucket Listâ€) and you also get a mediocre movie for an audience starved for a movie with meaning.
The core movie audience, and in some cases their older counterparts, only go to the theatre four to five times a year. They bring all their electronic toys, short attention spans and the same bad habits they developed in their living rooms with them.
Of the five Oscar nominees for Best Picture I felt “Atonement†was the least deserving. It was sold as a Jane Austin novel but there was no love story or any innocence in there. I paid to see a “Ryan’s Daughter†type tragic love story but instead got a horny snobby rich girl who sleeps with the help. Their improbable eternal love gets interrupted, not by the first World War mind you, but apparently by the “c†word, which makes an unlikely appearance in the early 20th Century. Talk about marketing to the masses!
If you look at the grosses, not enough people bought it and many of those who did talked on their phones and each other while watching these reprehensible characters lives unfold. At least the characters in “Michael Clayton†and “There Will Be Blood†and “No Country For Old Men†announced their evil.
Keep disappointing your audience and that age group will disappear even further.
Movies are still uniting us for political causes and teaching us lessons.
“No Country For Old Men” taught us that without Mexican immigrants there would be no crime. For that lesson it was rewarded with a Best Picture Oscar.
“Atonement” taught us that a bang in the drawing room is the same as eternal love.
“Juno” taught us that pregnant little girls fully understand the dynamics they have become a part of.
“300” taught us that war is good because real people never really get hurt.
“Hannah Montana” taught us that fame is everything.
IMAX announces “no one else would take it”.
3-D announces to the paying paying public that “it is no good and so we needed a gimmick”.
UNION. What is that?
I have recently had great experiences at the Paris, Ziegfeld, AMC Lincoln Square, Regal E-walk and AMC Empire.
Although the movies were hardly “Rocky”, the screens were clean, the staff attentive, the seats comfortable, the sound levels good and the presentations crisp.
It can be done, no matter how many screens you run, and even in notoriously sloppy Manhattan.
I think a good movie transcends its time.
I saw “2001” when I was a kid and my impression was “I don’t have any idea what that was about, but it sure was fun to watch!”
I am still not old enough to fully understand “2001” (nor “Barbarella”), but I still think they are great films.
The believe the third avenue Bijou was between 12th and 13th and was last known as Cinema Village on 3rdA Avenue.
/theaters/8371/
The 13th street Lyric is listed as the Bijou Cinema.
Many of the porno theatres listed here have rich histories in challenging censorship laws and documenting changing social mores, even if they were not born as brick and mortar palaces. They are time-capsule treasures of our film history.
Although designed to look like a movie palace, there appears to be no record of Studio 54 ever showing a single film for a single showing.
Although it also has had a history of insignificant movies, if you really want to define what a Cinema Treasure is, step into the Empire lobby and look up. It costs nothing.
The Ziegfeld has had at least two, maybe three major remodels since 1969. The original theatre’s burgundy wall coverings were called “New Orleans Whorehouse decor” when it first opened and then again when it was all redone to spec by Cineplex Odeon in the late eighties. It has since faded into a more acceptable color once again.
The original auditorium floor was fully carpeted, a fact that any theatre operator can tell you is not sustainable if you sell soft drinks. That sour smelling carpet was removed and cup holders added, probably by Clearview.
The Ziegfeld has movie premieres as often as possible. It’s what keep it profitable.
What about the film distributor?
Some cinemas in Britain split the price by including snacks. (e.i.– 6 pounds for your ticket, 4 pounds for a glass of champagne.) This way film rental percentages were limited to the ticket price.
I think I know why Ziegfeld audiences laugh at the opening monologue. It sounds like one of J. Peterman’s catalog entries from Seinfeld.
In retrospect, actor John O'Hurley must have been imitating Heston all along.
Alcohol works great in British cinemas because it is a boozier culture than the U.S. The bar makes it easier for mom to get dad out of the house.
I think it is less effective in the U.S. as a draw.
Three plans to rescue the theatre:
View link
Thanks Warren! That one has had me baffled for while now.
Although it sounds trivial, years from now someone will claim the Empire WAS the Liberty based on the address. Once such revisionist history gets into publication it takes forever to straighten it out. Just look at all the young writers who already mix up the Roxy’s.
When you consider that “The Birth of a Nation” is considered by many to have jump started modern exhibition around the world and may have even created the Roadshow concept, the mothballed Liberty may be the most important historical (if not architectural) Cinema Treasure anywhere.
CT has the same address for both the Liberty and the Empire. Surely this could not have been the case when they co-existed. Does anyone know the original Empire address?
On the issue of booking it right, it is impossible to keep the gourmet food fresh and justify the staff support for the cluster of upscale popular films that open during one season. After you play “No Country For Old Men” and “There Will Be Blood”, the rest of the year ends up being covered by mainstream crap or empty seats.
It is impossible to justify the screen size, staff costs and spoiled food for that small “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” crowd that buys nothing.
Theatres chains in Britain have been running premium priced ‘premiere screens’ for years. They were first introduced by Virgin Cinemas with private bars, waiter service and deluxe seating. Very few worked and few are still operating.
The Park Lane/Gracie Square page mentions that it was designed to resemble the Gallo/Studio 54.
There is no reference to screen size in my 1927 program but the main feature was “Ankles Preferred” starring Madge Bellamy accompanied by an organ concert, symphony orchestra, ballet, magazine, and a “Revue Picturesque'(whatever that is).
The 26 page program says it would have a guaranteed circulation of 100,000 weekly.
I thought that wall on 41st street was the Empire when I went by. Is that really the old Liberty?
I can’t find that listing.
??